Behind the scenes: the kings manservant
by SSApoofiepie94
Summary: Seeing how tired and late Merlin always is, Arthur decides to discover what Merlin really did between his duties to Arthur and on his rare days off. NO SLASH but a bit of sweet friendship later on, please play and review nicely
1. Prologue

**Arthur wonders what could make Merlin so tired and late all the time even after one of his rare days off and decides to follow his manservant to find out...**

* * *

******Prologue**

****Watching Merlin bustling around his room tiredly, Arthur began to wander why on earth he's so tired, after all, he'd given him the day off yesterday. As Merlin tripped over his own feet andthrees the jug of water he'd been carrying over the floor, Arthur sighed, "_Mer_lin! How on earth canyou be so clumsy, you look like you haven't eaten or slept in days." Glancing up from where he'd dropped to his knees to mop up the water, Merlin grinned his cheery but somehow tired grin, "I don't know _Sire_, maybe I'm just over worked?" With a sigh, he turned back to the mopping, only to hear Arthur laugh exasperatedly, "I gave you the day off yesterday _Mer_lin, how can you be overworked now?" With anotherheavy sigh, Merlin climbed to his feet and retrieved the jug with a cheeky grin, "Because you, _Sire_, are a lazy prat..." He immediatelymucked as Arthur's dirty clothes sailed past his head, hitting the wall behind him with a light thump.

"Me _Mer_lin, Lazy? You are the laziest servan I have ever had, you are so incompetent you trip over your own feet!" With a smirk at his friend, Merlin bent down and grabbed the dirty clothes and tray of empty breakfast cutlery, still grinning annoyingly. "If I'competing competent _Sire_, then why haven't you fired me yet?" Arthur sighed and shook his head, "I don't have time to train a new manservant now I'm king, I just have to put up with you... Have the day off tomorrow, I don't think I can deal with you tripping up and falling asleep left, right and centre... Now go do whatever it is you do..." Watching Merlin leave the room, Arthur noticed the cheery grin slide off his face slightly and his severely skinny shoulders hunching forwards tiredly. Sitting at the table, Arthur shook his head, he hated worrying about Merlin, but the idiot looked exhausted and he reluctantly wandered what on earth Merlin could be doing all the time to make him so tired and late. Annoyed he was so distracted, Arthur realised he didn't have any duties tomorrow and decided to let Leon train the knights so that he could discoverwhat Merlin did all day and put his mind to rest.

With a loud sigh, Arthur dragged himself to his feet, he had to go train the knights and he needed to focus, he'd find out what was happening with Merlin tomorrow, definitely.

* * *

**There shall be more tomorrow and it will get better! I know this bit isn't too great but please be constructive with your reveiws =]**


	2. Chapter 1

**There is more to come, it should be grammatically better this chapter as I had someone read it over. Let me know what you think... Enjoy =]**

* * *

Merlin woke up in the dawn light with a yawn. Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of the cot and stretched as he drew himself upright with another yawn, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Pulling his day clothes, today his red shirt and blue scarf along with his usual trousers, brown jacket and boots, he stumbled over to the window and watched as the sun began to rise over Camelot. With a sigh he slipped out of his room and down the steps, only stopping to pull Gaius' thin blanket up over his shoulders so that the old man was warmer. Still yawning Merlin grabbed a bucket, walked down the steps from the physician's chamber and out into the corridor, running a hand through his black hair as he turned left and started through the quiet halls of Camelot. As he walked, he was completely unaware of Arthur following him, having gotten up before dawn and hidden in an alcove to wait until he appeared.

After a couple of turns, Merlin stepped through a door into a smaller corridor that was slightly more active, with a jolt, Arthur realized that this was the servant's corridors, the series of small corridors and doors that led throughout the castle that were used by most of the servants to get around. It wasn't that Arthur didn't know them, he had every corridor and door in the castle committed to memory, it was just he'd never been allowed in them, having only learnt the lay-out of these bits from maps. When he'd been young, he'd tried many times to sneak into them but he'd always been found out and taken away with warnings that the servant's corridors were no place for a prince. Seeing Merlin stopping a boy around their age up ahead, Arthur ducked out of sight a listened intently as Merlin's chirpy voice rang out.  
"Tommy! Hi, are you busy today, only, I need a favor..." Tommy grinned at Merlin, clearly a good friend of his, and nodded enthusiastically.  
"I don't have much that really needs to be done today, why, whats up?" Smiling at his friend, Merlin grinned and started fiddling with his shirt hem.

"I need someone to tidy The King's chambers, he probably won't be around much today, he only gives me days off when he doesn't have anything planned and he wants to something alone... But there is still work to be done and he won't have thought to ask anyone to cover for me..." Tommy nodded and laughed, grinning at Merlin and patting his shoulder with a half sympathetic, half amused grin.  
"I'm sure I can get that done Merlin, I'll head up there and fetch his laundry now, the girls shouldn't gave too much of it to do this early so they should get it clean quickly. Have a good day Merlin." At that, Tommy rushed off, not even noticing the King hiding around the corner, and disappeared up a small spiral staircase down the corridor. Merlin smiled after his friend before continuing on down the corridor and around a few corners, stopping at a set of large double doors.

Stepping in, Merlin was greeted with chorus of hello's and he grinned and slipped over to what looked like the head cook. Arthur only knew that because one time when he'd been little, he'd tried to nick food from the kitchen, not realizing the plate he was taking from was his Father's meal, and had been removed quickly by his ear by the large, rosy-cheeked lady. Slipping into the kitchen, Arthur ducked out of sight and used the steam that filled the room to keep him hidden until he could get into another smaller corridor that led to the kitchen, hiding with the door slightly ajar so that he could listen to the conversation between Merlin and the cook.  
"Merlin dear, you're looking peaky. Have you been eating properly or has that king been keeping you rushed off your feet. With the little you eat, I'm surprised you're even upright half the time boy!"

As the woman pottered around him chatting, Merlin just smiled and scratched his cheek with a smile and a yawn.  
"Don't Ellin, I'm fine, King Arthur's given me the day off today actually, I was just going tell that your boy Tommy is going to be covering for me today..." Merlin grinned cheekily and winked at a young serving girl who was smothering a laugh at Ellin's fussing behind her, as the lady herself surveyed him with a critical eye.  
"Well good, you deserve a break dear, when was the last time you got to go home and visit your mother? I still think you're looking awfully skinny though..." As she said this, Merlin had a sad smile on his face at talk of his mother, but seemed to shake it out himself quickly enough to grin again.  
"You know I haven't seen her in a few years Ellin, but I write to her every month when I send her the half of my wages." The sad look in his eye stayed, even though he was grinning and Arthur jolted when he realized that it really had been years since Merlin had last been home and seen his mother. He also realized that he'd never thought of what his friend did with his wages, but as he thought, it didn't surprise him, sending the money home to his mother was such a Merlin sort of thing to do. Kind and generous.

Hopping to his feet, Merlin smiled at Ellin and took the two loaves of bread she gave him gratefully before discreetly slipping some cooked sausages from a plate that was meant to be for Arthur into his pocket.  
"Thanks Ellin, I'd better be off... Thank Tommy again for me when you see him, he's a good lad... If you see Alice anywhere, could you ask her to pass on a message to Lady Gwen for me when she serves her breakfast? Could she tell her I really need to talk with her about something urgently?" As he spoke, he slipped two apples and some cheese into his pocket as well, un-noticed by anyone but Arthur hiding in the corridor.  
"Of course I will dear, you look after yourself today and make sure you don't get yourself hurt. You were black, blue and covered in dung the other week when you let your mouth do the thinking. Although young Bradley was grateful, he's not very good at being a stable boy... He's managed to switch to and errands runner in here with us." She smiled fondly at Merlin who merely shook his head and walked towards that Arthur was hiding in, causing the king to drat away into a nearby alcove, barely hearing his reply.  
"It was nothing Ellin, Lord Tanner was being cruel to the poor boy... He didn't deserve the horse whip, especially not for stabling the horse in the wrong stall.."

Finally Merlin appeared in the small corridor, not noticing Arthur in the alcove, and he continued down to a door that led out into the main courtyard. As he headed towards to lower town, Arthur followed un-noticed, wondering what the last conversation had meant and determining that he would be talking to Merlin about Lord Tanner later. As Merlin appeared in the lower town, people suddenly started chatting with him and handing him odd bits off food they had spare from the little they could afford. One lady handed Merlin a basket of bread and gave him a hug, smiling at the boy.  
"Merlin! How are you?" Transferring the food from his pockets and arms into the basket, Merlin grinned at the lady cheerfully.  
"I'm fine Sally, the King has given me the day off and I managed to get some extra food for the kids today... How is your son, has Gaius found a good pain reliever for him yet?" The woman shook her head and Merlin smiled sympathetically, reaching out with his free hand to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

With another kind smiled, Merlin turned and Arthur saw how worried he was about the woman, Sally's, son etched across his face, before turning back with another reassuring smile.  
"I'm sure he will Sally, there is no better physician than Gaius in all of the kingdom, send him my best wishes! I must get this food down to Mary, the kids will be starving..." He gave the woman's shoulder another squeeze before continuing down the street, Arthur taking a back street where he could see Merlin in between each of the houses. As he watched, Merlin stopped at a door and let himself in, calling out a cheery hello into the house. Intrigued, Arthur followed him over to the house and found a side window to look in from, he could see a large number of children rushing towards Merlin who laughed with them and placed a basket on the table.  
"Hi guys, where's Mary, I brought you all food!"

As the kids all returned to their somewhat loud games, a young woman in her mid twenties appeared and dragged Merlin out a back door, so Arthur inched closer to the corner of the house to hear.  
"Thank you for the food Merlin, but we have a problem, little Ariana is sick. She's been sickly since her parents were killed for protesting against Morgana, but she seems to have taken a down hill turn, she's burning up and hallucinating, I don't know what to do..." She sounded weepy and Arthur heard Merlin sigh, risking a glance round the corner the King saw Merlin patting her back kindly and sh-ing her with a soothing tone.  
"It's Ok, I'll get Gaius to come and treat her, I have done all I can. He'll know what to do and he should be able to make her better..." Even as he said it in a comforting voice, he glanced away from Mary with a sad look in his eye as though he knew that Ariana wouldn't get better.

Suddenly, the door from the house opened and a small, pale little girl stepped out. Merlin smiled at her and lifted her onto his lap as Mary stood up.  
"I'll go in and organize the food before they all start fighting over it, will you stay out here with Ariana Merlin." She glanced back at him to see him hugging Ariana rightly as he nodded a reply. With a smiled she headed indoors and Merlin rocked Ariana for a few moments before sitting her next to him.  
"I hear you aren't feeling well Ariana, but is anything else wrong?" He looked earnestly at the little girl for a moment before she nodded slightly and buried her face in his shoulder, speaking into it and causing her voice to become muffled.  
"I miss my mummy and daddy, I don't feel good and I want them back... Why did they have to leave?" Merlin gave the small girl a hug and hushed her before speaking in his soothing tone, rubbing her arm slightly in a comforting way as he spoke.  
"Your mother and father were very brave people sweetie. When the mean lady took over they tried to stop her and she killed them. Just like the parents of all the kids that live you, your parents were very brave and they loved you all very much. That's why everyone in the town helps..." The little girl just cuddled in closer as Merlin continued to rub her arm and rock her slightly.

Arthur stepped back away from the corner and sunk down the wall. It had never occurred to him that there were many children who had been orphaned after his sist... No, not his sister, Morgana was evil and he wouldn't call her his sister anymore, not now. After Morgana had taken over, he'd been too focused on his father and his own life. With a sigh, he added talking to this Mary about the orphan's and food and money to feed and clothe them onto his seemingly ever growing list of things he must do. With a start, he realized that Merlin had taken the young girl back inside and was now leaving out of the front entrance, clearly in a hurry to get somewhere. Starting to follow, Arthur wondered, what other things could Merlin do in one day?

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Read and review, but as with the last one, please be constructive and nice! The more reviews I get, the sooner the next chapter shall be up =P**

**Thanks to all the helpful and kind reveiws in the last chapter, you guys are awesome!**


End file.
